The alleged abuse dates back to August 2018, when Animal Recovery Mission, a nonprofit animal welfare group based in Miami, planted an investigator as an undercover calf care employee at the Indiana farm. Of the four who were our employees, three had already been terminated prior to us being made aware months ago of the undercover ARM operation, as they were identified by their co-workers as being abusive of our animals and reported to management. Driver in ditch nearly 5 times the legal limit, Porter County police say. The company cited Fair Oaks Farms' actions in light of the ARM investigation as well, saying Fair Oaks Farms has commissioned an independent auditor to audit practices at the farm and has also committed to conduct independent, random audits. Does Fairlife publicize the audit? We will also continue to work with Fair Oaks Farms to ensure specific actions are taken to address this situation and uphold our high standards for animal care.. The controversy led to businesses dropping Fairlife products, including Stack & Van Til, Jewel-Osco and Tonys Fresh Market. "With recent events involving Fair Oaks Farms, Strack & Van Til will be removing all Fair Oaks and related products until further notice," he said. "This is a much greater investigation and it's still ongoing," Couto said. Fair Oaks Farms owner Mike McCloskey released this statement to WPTV on Wednesday, calling the workers' actions despicable: "This morning I was made aware of an animal abuse video that. Unfortunately, the fourth employee's animal abuse was not caught at that same time. However, this footage was a wake-up call to dairy consumers everywhere. They also announced the farm's plans to install video surveillance on the property. Couto said the next video will allegedly show conversations the undercover investigator had with management acknowledging animal abuse. Advancements in reproductive technology have led to more calves being born on farms today, and most conventionally raised cows are now fed a diet of grain versus grass. Fairlife also hired a vet as its Director of Animal Welfare and Sustainable Farming in January 2020, and the company claims to now conduct third-party audits of its farms. The U.S. Department of Agriculture regulates the treatment of animals under the authority of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act and the Animal Welfare Act. Fairlife does not provide any evidence that its cows are no longer being abused in fact, industrial animal farms are protected from being photographed or filmed by a set of laws called ag-gag laws. FAIR OAKS Mike McCloskey said he wished an animal activist organization that spent nearly six months clandestinely filming the operations of, FAIR OAKS | Fortune 60 company Coca-Cola is partnering with a Northwest Indiana farm, hoping that a reinvented, more nutrient-rich milk can do. Its signature product is a form of ultrafiltered milk that has more protein and less sugar than traditional milk. , https://t.co/F5bRlpWmVD This had to be the most disgusting & disturbing thing Ive watched. The minimizing of the graphic animal cruelty offers little assurance of change in a culture that is likely in need of fundamental retooling.". ", "Going undercover in the dairy industry, we always find the same crimes committed against the animals," he said. In early 2019, an investigator from the animal rights organization Animal Recovery Mission (ARM) went undercover by getting a job as a milker at Fair Oaks Farms in Indiana, which supplies milk to Fairlife (among other companies), according to the organization. Now millions more are becoming aware of these issues.". HAMMOND Fair Oaks Farms is facing new demands it pay damages over animal abuse at the agritourism destination. "In 2019, when our farmers reported this behavior, we immediately terminated and turned these individuals into the proper authorities to prosecute," the company said in the statement. But this behavior was all observed nearly three years ago so is it still happening? In addition to the state's laws, the board refers to FARM when it comes to industry standards for handling and care. People are starting to do their own homework on this. But now, nearly three years later, consumers are wondering how Fairlife treats cows in the wake of the scandal, and if Fairlife still abuses cows in 2021. Pending orders of Fairlife products were suspended at Family Express, according to a news release issued by the company. IE 11 is not supported. 2019 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. The video was filmed by a member of Animal Recovery Mission, who got a job at Fair Oaks Farms and went undercover as an employee from August to November of last year, CBS Chicago reports. For further information on the progress of our commitments, visit http://fairoaksfarmsprogress.com.". "This is rare," Couto said. Cathy Siegner On June 4, 2019, videos depicting employees abusing calves were released by ARM following an undercover investigation by the animal rights group. Couto supported the renewed calls for boycotting Fairlife, but said his target is much bigger the dairy industry at large. Driver in ditch nearly 5 times the legal limit, Porter County police say. Olivia is the morning cops/breaking news reporter at The Times. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, UPDATE: Death of Winfield woman ruled a homicide, coroner says, 2 Illinois men each sentenced to over 90 years for killing of Portage High School student, UPDATE: Parents discovered battered, deceased Winfield woman; remembered as 'amazing' nurse, KFC is bringing back a fan favorite after a nearly 10-year hiatus, Crown Point schools release redistricting maps, 1 million-square-foot, 'once-in-a-lifetime building' walls erected in new business park, Passed-out motorist found with lit marijuana cigarette, Portage police say, Lake County investigators on scene of death investigation in Winfield, sheriff says, UPDATE: Lake Station police investigating possible homicide; suspect in custody, chief says, Man found dead from gunshot wound in Munster parking lot, coroner says, Kouts nurse practitioner found guilty of dodging federal payroll taxes, Lake Station man charged with murder in connection with deadly shooting, Riverfront district moves forward in St. John. So even though Fairlife claims to be making efforts to improve animal welfare and sustainability at its supplier farms, there is no way for consumers to truly monitor it; plus, exploitation of the cows reproductive system and eventual slaughter are both unavoidable in the dairy industry. There was a problem saving your notification. "We are proud to report that we have not had another incident on our farm.". (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Fair Oaks Farms notified Fairlife that they immediately isolated dairy supply from the dairy identified in the video to suspend all sourcing from that location We fully support and respect the proactive approach that Fairlife and Fair Oaks Farms have taken and we continue to stay in contact with them to lend any support they need.". Animal Welfare Experts | Video Update | Fair Oaks Farms Animal Welfare Animal Welfare Experts Video Update Share Both of our Animal Welfare Experts continue to evaluate our existing training programs, our on-boarding process for hiring new employees and the continuous education of employees. But unlike the retailers, it plans to stick with Fairlife. It didn't come from us.". Fairlife said the company is taking this incident very seriously. In a statement, the company said the dairy production seen in the video makes up less than 5% of Fairlife's milk supply, however in light of the footage's findings, the company will be putting its other dairy sources under a magnifying glass. It has since received millions of views on a variety of social media platforms. Warning: the video is very disturbing. Time passed, and the product found its way back onto store shelves. While the videos and ensuing lawsuits cast negative attention on the Fairlife brand, it has done little to slow its momentum. You can cancel at any time. The settlement received preliminary approval by an Illinois federal judge on April 27. WATCH VIDEO If the Dairy Industry Was a Country, It Would Be One of the World's Biggest Emitters, Report Finds, Milk Sales Drop by More Than $1 Billion as Plant-Based Alternatives Take Off. "We acknowledge the need for humane treatment of animals and the need to hold individuals that have gone beyond an acceptable farm management practice accountable for their actions," says a release from the department. As we shared last week, we are taking immediate actions to ensure our high standards of animal welfare are being executed at each of our supplying farms.". Fairlife milk products are available nationwide. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Coworkers caught. The result is a milk with more protein and calcium, and less fat and sugar, than conventional milk. The fifth person is a truck driver who works for a third party. Fair Oaks Farms was the worst abuse towards newborn babies that I have ever seen, Couto said Thursday. Green Matters is a registered trademark. Reaction was fast and furious when the video was released in June 2019. It is a shock and an eye-opener for us to discover that under our watch, we had employees who showed disregard for our animals, our processes and for the rule of law. "We are currently putting actions into place to ensure that this never happens again. Although he underwent another training session in animal care when we discovered there was an undercover ARM operation on our farm, after viewing the extent of his animal abuse, he is being terminated today. 2 men found drugged after leaving NYC gay bars were killed, medical examiner says. A factor in our decision was the public response by Fair Oaks, asserting the notion that this was an isolated incident," the company said in a release. On Wednesday, the company issued a new statement on its Facebook page taking "full responsibility" for the matter. Mar 13, 2020. The cases were filed after non-profit animal welfare group Animal Recovery Mission released videos from an undercover investigation of Fair Oaks Farms showing animals being mistreated, which . The video posts also appear to show drug possession and use by farm employees. Fairlife's 2021 stewardship report said it spent more than $8 million on supporting animal welfare standards at its suppliers and exploring new methods and technologies to improve animal care.. ET, Webinar Four employees were fired and a truck driver who worked for a third-party vendor was banned from the farm. "We will work with the Newton County prosecutors office to file charges for any criminal activity the independent investigation revealed. You have permission to edit this article. Shot in 2018 by an undercover activist group investigator at Fair Oaks Farms, then the massive flagship dairy of Fairlife, the four-minute video depicts workers throwing, dragging, kicking and hitting newborn calves. Authorities have arrested one of the three men charged in connection with an animal cruelty investigation at Fair Oaks Farms in northwest Indiana, authorities announced Wednesday. No court records were available on the remaining defendants. As explained by the Animal Legal & Historical Center, ag-gag laws were actually first instituted in response to undercover activists, and these laws are the governments way of protecting the meat, dairy, and egg industries (which makes sense, since the U.S. government gives tens of billions of dollars in subsidies to the animal agriculture industry every year). According to online federal court records, the next hearing will be a remote status hearing on July 15. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. A cemetery posted a personal ad for a goose whose mate died.